Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

We have an obligation to preserve the continued independence and effectiveness of the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Justice.

I demand a recorded vote. A recorded vote was ordered. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of today, this 15-minute vote on the passage of the bill will be followed by a 5- minute vote on agreeing to the motion to…

How much time remains on either side, Mr. Speaker? The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Michigan has 25\1/2\ minutes remaining, and the gentleman from Virginia has 22\1/2\ minutes remaining.

I am now pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Gutieerrez).

I am pleased to yield the balance of my time to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, to close.

Members of the House, I rise today to celebrate the 49th anniversary of the Medicare bill. The impact of Medicare on the lives of millions of Americans over the past 49 years has been extraordinary. As a result of this program, Mr…

I thank the gentlelady. Mr. Speaker, Members of the House, as the former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, I rise in strong opposition to House Resolution 676, which would authorize the Speaker to file suit against the President…

To begin with, H. Res. 676 seeks to solve a nonexistent problem because the President has, in fact, fully met his obligations to fully execute the laws. Allowing flexibility in the implementation of a major new program, even where the…

The health of our intellectual property system is integral to the health of our nation's economy.

Under Federal regulations and according to all available precedent, the appointment of special counsel is reserved for extraordinary circumstances.

Without that evidence, calls for a special counsel are simply unwarranted.

I repeat: Congress cannot compel him to do so.

the current funding mechanism has failed the patent system by allowing an estimated billion dollars in fees over the last two decades to be diverted to other agencies

H.R. 3349, the Innovation Protection Act. It's bipartisan legislation that establishes a permanent statutory funding mechanism for the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

most of your progress, or much of it, is going to be obstructed by the appropriation processes in the legislative body.

We have too few judges, too few asylum officers.

That determination is what democracy is all about.

The President isn't enforcing immigration law.

Would you discuss, Director Rodriguez, the sheer numbers that we are talking about?

Youngsters with valid claims should have a speedier way to have that determined.

Social Security taxes could be covered and not cut by merely raising the Social Security tax.

I oppose the concept of a constitutional balanced budget amendment.

The balanced budget amendment was not a good idea when it was included in the Contract with America in 1994, and it is still not a good idea today, 20 years later.

It is not the case that benefits have to be cut. Taxes could be increased.